Container for cell chip

ABSTRACT

There is provided a container for a cell chip including: a lower body including an installation space allowing a cell chip to be installed therein and one or more holes connected to the installation space; and an upper body coupled to the lower body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 13/770,986, filed on Feb.19, 2013, which claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0113817 filed on Oct. 12, 2012, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container for a cell chip and, moreparticularly, to a container for a cell chip capable of easilyseparating a cell chip accommodated therein.

2. Description of the Related Art

As research into genetic engineering has been actively conducted,experiments determining properties of bio-materials have increased. Indetermining properties of bio-materials, bio-materials are cultivated incell chips and the properties thereof are subsequently measured by ameasurement device such as a scanner.

Experiments using cell chips have been iteratively conducted. Thus, acell chip used in a certain experiment may be kept in a container andlater re-used. However, in general, cell chips are thin and small, andit is not easy to insert the cell chip into the container and remove ittherefrom. Thus, a cell chip may be dropped while being removed from thecontainer or a bio-material of the cell chip may be damaged. Thus, thedevelopment of a technique for easily separating a small cell chip froma container is urgently required.

Meanwhile, the related art document includes Patent Documents 1 and 2.However, these patent documents only describe a configuration ofaccommodating a cell chip, without disclosing a configuration for easilyseparating an accommodated cell chip from a container.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT (Patent Document 1) JP2006-181567 A

(Patent Document 2) U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,996 B2

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention provides a container for a cell chipallowing a cell chip to be easily separated therefrom.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided acontainer for a cell chip, including: a lower body including aninstallation space allowing a cell chip to be installed therein and oneor more holes connected to the installation space; and an upper bodycoupled to the lower body.

The installation space may include a plurality of support memberssupporting an installation position of the cell chip.

The upper body may include a plurality of protrusions.

The protrusions may be elongated toward the installation space to pressthe cell chip in a state in which the lower body and the upper body arecoupled to each other.

The protrusions may extend upwardly in order to be used as handles forseparating the upper body in a state in which the lower body and theupper body are coupled to each other.

The protrusions may have a size sufficient to be inserted into theholes.

The upper body may have a size sufficient to accommodate a portion ofthe lower body therein.

The lower body or the upper body may have a ventilation hole allowingexternal air to be introduced therein.

The lower body may include a water storage space storing water formaintaining humidity.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda container for a cell chip, including: a lower body including aninstallation space for a cell chip and one or more first holes connectedto the installation space; an upper body coupled to the lower body; anda cell chip installed in the installation space and having second holesconnected to the first holes, wherein the second holes have a sizesmaller than that of the first holes.

The installation space may include a plurality of support memberssupporting an installation position of the cell chip.

The upper body may include a plurality of protrusions.

The protrusions may be elongated toward the installation space to pressthe cell chip in a state in which the lower body and the upper body arecoupled to each other.

The protrusions may extend upwardly in order to be used as handles forseparating the upper body in a state in which the lower body and theupper body are coupled to each other.

The protrusions may include first extending portions inserted into thefirst holes and second extending portions inserted into the secondholes.

The upper body may have a size sufficient to accommodate a portion ofthe lower body therein.

The lower body or the upper body may have a ventilation hole allowingexternal air to be introduced therein.

The lower body may include a water storage space storing water formaintaining humidity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a disassembled perspective view of a container for a cell chipaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a coupled state of the container for acell chip illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container for a cell chipillustrated in FIG. 2, taken along line A-A;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views illustrating a process of separating a cell chipfrom the container for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a container for a cell chipaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views illustrating a process of separating a cell chipfrom the container for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a container for a cell chipaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are views illustrating a process of separating a cellchip from the container for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a container for a cell chipaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a container for a cell chip accordingto another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the container for a cell chipillustrated in FIG. 13; and

FIGS. 15 and 16 are views illustrating a process of separating a cellchip from the container for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions ofelements may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numeralswill be used throughout to designate the same or like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a disassembled perspectiveview of a container for a cell chip according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a coupled state of thecontainer for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is across-sectional view of the container for a cell chip illustrated inFIG. 2, taken along line A-A. FIGS. 4 and 5 are views illustrating aprocess of separating a cell chip from the container for a cell chipillustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a containerfor a cell chip according to another embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 7 and 8 are views illustrating a process of separatinga cell chip from the container for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 6.FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a container for a cell chipaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 10 and11 are views illustrating a process of separating a cell chip from thecontainer for a cell chip illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 12 is across-sectional view of a container for a cell chip according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of acontainer for a cell chip according to another embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the container for a cellchip illustrated in FIG. 13. FIGS. 15 and 16 are views illustrating aprocess of separating a cell chip from the container for a cell chipillustrated in FIG. 14.

A container for a cell chip according to an embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 5.

A container 1000 for a cell chip according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may include a lower body 100 and an upper body 200.Here, the lower body 100 and the upper body 200 may be coupled to eachother and separated from each other as necessary. In addition, the lowerbody 100 and the upper body 200 may include a coupling unit (e.g., aclip, or the like) for firmly coupling the lower body 100 and the upperbody 200.

The lower body 100 may accommodate a cell chip 302. To this end, thelower body 100 may include an installation space 110. In addition, thelower body 100 may further include support members 120 surrounding theinstallation space 110 to allow the cell chip 302 to be stablymaintained in the installation space 110.

The installation space 110 may have a size such that the cell chip 302is fitted therein. For example, the installation space 110 may be formedby a plurality of the support members 120 dividing a bottom surface ofthe lower body 100 into sections having a predetermined size.

The support members 120 may be formed to entirely surround theinstallation space 110 or may be formed to partially surround theinstallation space 110. The support members 120 thusly formed mayrestrain the cell chip 302 accommodated in the installation space 110from being detached from the installation space 110 due to an externalimpact.

The lower body 100 may include first holes 130. In detail, the firstholes 130 may be formed in the installation space 110 in which the cellchip 302 is placed. In addition, the first holes 130 may penetrate thebottom of the lower body 100 in a vertical direction. Thus, the cellchip 302 may be in contact with the bottom of the lower body 100 throughthe first holes 130.

The first holes 130 may be formed in edge portions of the installationspace 110. In detail, the first holes 130 may be formed in positionscorresponding to edge portions of the cell chip 302 in a state in whichthe cell chip 302 is placed in the installation space 110. However, theformation position of the first holes 130 is not limited thereto and maybe changed as necessary. In addition, it is illustrated that four firstholes 130 are formed in each installation space 110 of the lower body100, but the number of the first holes 130 may be varied according to asize and type of the cell chip 302.

The upper body 200 may be coupled to the lower body 100. In detail, theupper body 200 may be coupled to the lower body 100 to form an airtightspace for accommodating one or more cell chips 302 therein.

The upper body 200 may include ventilation holes 400. The ventilationholes 400 may be used as a passage allowing air to move to the interioror exterior of the container 1000 for a cell chip. Meanwhile, it isillustrated that two ventilation holes 400 are formed in the upper body200, but the number of the ventilation holes 400 may be increased ordecreased as necessary. In addition, in the present embodiment, theventilation holes 400 are described and illustrated as being formed inthe upper body 200, but they may be formed in the lower body 100 or inboth of the lower body 100 and the upper body 200 as necessary.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the container 1000 for a cell chipconfigured as described above may have an airtight space formed bycoupling the lower body 100 and the upper body 200 to accommodate one ormore cell chips 302 therein. In particular, the cell chip 302 (Pleasesee FIG. 4) may be stably maintained by the support members 120 formedon the edge portion of the installation space 100.

In addition, the lower body 100 of the container 1000 for a cell chipincludes the plurality of first holes 130, but since the first holes 130may be enclosed by the cell chip 302 mounted in the installation space100, they do not significantly affect an experiment using the cell chip302.

Meanwhile, as described above in the related art, the cell chip 302 hasa thin plate shape, so it may be difficult to separate the cell chip 302from the container 1000 for a cell chip. However, in the presentembodiment, the cell chip 302 may be easily separated from the container1000 for a cell chip in the following manner. The cell chip 302 will beseparated in the order described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The separation of the cell chip 302 from the container 1000 for a cellchip may include separating the upper body 200, coupling the lower body100 and a separation tool 600, and selecting the cell chip 302.

1) Separating the Upper Body 200

In the separating of the upper body 200, the upper body 200 may beseparated from the lower body 100. Here, the upper body 200 isrelatively large as compared to the cell chip 302 and may be easilygrasped and accordingly, may be easily separated from the lower body100.

2) Coupling the Lower Body 100 and the Separation Tool 600

In the coupling of the lower body 100 and the separation tool 600, thelower body 100 and the separation tool 600 may be coupled to each other.Here, the separation tool 600 may include protrusions 610 extendingupwardly. In addition, the protrusions 610 of the separation tool 600may have a size sufficient to be inserted into the first holes 130 ofthe lower body 100.

The lower body 100 may be coupled to the separation tool 600 byinserting the first holes 130 of the lower body 100 into the protrusions610 of the separation tool 600. In this manner, when the lower body 100is slowly coupled to the separation tool 600, one or more cell chips 302may be pushed up by the protrusions 610. Accordingly, the cell chips 302may be moved out of the installation space 110 surrounded by the supportmembers 120 (Please see FIGS. 4 and 5). For reference, a height h2 ofthe protrusions 610 may be greater than a height h1 from the bottom ofthe lower body 100 to an upper surface of the support members 120.

3) Selecting the Cell Chip 302

In the selecting of the cell chip 302, one cell chip among the one ormore cell chips 302 moved upwardly by the protrusions 610 may beselected.

As described above, when the lower body 100 and the separation tool 600are coupled, all the cell chips 302 installed in the lower body 100 maybe separated from the installation space 110 by the protrusions 610 ofthe separation tool 600. Thus, a user may select only a required cellchip 302 among the one or more cell chips 302 moved upwardly by theprotrusions 610.

For reference, the cell chip 302 selected by the user may be subjectedto a separate experiment and may be re-accommodated in the container1000 for a cell chip. In addition, the re-accommodated cell chip 302 maybe re-separated from the container 1000 for a cell chip through theforegoing process.

Hereinafter, containers for a cell chip according to other embodimentsof the present invention will be described. For reference, the sameelements of an embodiment as those of the former embodiment will bedescribed by using the same reference numerals as those of the formerembodiment and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A container for a cell chip according to another embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 8.

The container 1000 for a cell chip according to another embodiment ofthe present invention may be differentiated from that of the formerembodiment, in terms of a shape of the upper body 200. In detail, in thepresent embodiment, the upper body 200 may include protrusions 210.Hereinafter, the container 1000 for a cell chip according to anotherembodiment of the present invention will be described based on theconfiguration of the upper body 200.

The upper body 200 may include one or more protrusions 210. In detail,one or more protrusions 210 extending downwardly may be formed on theupper body 200. The protrusions 210 may be in contact with an uppersurface of the cell chip 302 in a state in which the lower body 100 andthe upper body 200 are coupled to each other, whereby the cell chip 302is prevented from being released from the installation space 110.

Meanwhile, the protrusions 210 may be inserted into the first holes 130.For example, in a state in which the reversed upper body 200 and thelower body 100 are coupled, the protrusions 210 may be inserted into thefirst holes 130 of the lower body 100. To this end, the protrusions 210may be formed in positions of the upper body 200 corresponding to thefirst holes 130 of the lower body 100. For reference, a height h3 of theprotrusions 210 may be greater than the height h1 from the bottom of thelower body 100 to the upper surface of the support members 120.

Thus, in the case of the container 1000 for a cell chip configured asdescribed above, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cell chip 302 maybe separated from the installation space 110 by using the upper body 200without using a separation tool.

A container for a cell chip according to another embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 through11.

The container 1000 for a cell chip according to another embodiment ofthe present invention may be differentiated from that of the formerembodiment, in terms of a formation position of the protrusions 210. Indetail, in the present embodiment, the protrusions 210 may be formed onan upper surface of the upper body 200.

The protrusions 210 may be elongated upwardly from the upper surface ofthe upper body 200. The protrusions 210 may be used as handles forgrasping the upper body 200 in a state of being coupled to the lowerbody 100.

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the protrusions 210 maybe inserted into the first holes 130 of the lower body 100. Namely, in astate in which the lower body 100 is coupled to the upper body 200, theprotrusions 210 may be inserted into the first holes 130 of the lowerbody 100.

The container 1000 for a cell chip configured as described above isadvantageous in that the protrusions 210 of the upper body 200 may bevariously utilized both as handles of the upper body and as aprotrusions for separating a cell chip.

A container for a cell chip according to another embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

The container 1000 for a cell chip according to another embodiment ofthe present invention may be differentiated from that of the formerembodiment, in that it includes a water storage space 500.

In general, a bio-material of the cell chip 302 is required to be keptin storage in a predetermined humidity environment. In order to takethis into consideration, in the present embodiment, the water storagespace 500 is formed in the container 1000 for a cell chip to uniformlymaintain internal humidity.

The water storage space 500 may be a portion of the space formed by thesupport members 120 of the lower body 100. For example, the lower body100 may be divided into the installation space 110 and the water storagespace 500 by the support members 120. Alternatively, the water storagespace 500 may be formed by a receiving container installed in the lowerbody 100.

A container for a cell chip according to another embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 through16.

The container 1000 for a cell chip according to another embodiment ofthe present invention may be differentiated from that of the formerembodiment, in that it includes a dedicated cell chip 300. In detail,the container 1000 for a cell chip according to the present embodimentmay include the lower body 100, the upper body 200, and the cell chip300. For reference, a configuration of the lower body 100 is the same asthat of the lower body of the former embodiment as described above, so adetailed description thereof will be omitted.

The upper body 200 may include the protrusions 210. The protrusions 210may be elongated downwardly, and in a state in which the lower body 100and the upper body 200 are installed, the protrusions 210 may press thecell chip 300.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the protrusions 210 may include firstextending portions 212 and second extending portions 214. The firstextending portions 212 may extend downwardly from a lower surface of theupper body 100 and may be inserted into the first holes 130 of the lowerbody 100. The second extending portions 214 may extend downwardly fromthe first extending portions 212 and may be inserted into second holes310 of the cell chip 300. Here, a length h5 of the second extendingportions 214 may be equal to or different from a depth h4 of the secondholes 310 of the cell chip 300. Meanwhile, a size of the cross sectionof the second extending portion 214 may be smaller than that of thecross section of the first extending portion 212.

The cell chip 300 may include a plurality of the second holes 310. Thesecond holes 310 may be formed in positions corresponding to the firstholes 130 of the lower body 100. In detail, the second holes 310 may beconnected to the first holes 130 of the lower body 100 in a state inwhich the cell chip 310 is installed in the installation space 110.Thus, the protrusion 210 inserted through the first hole 130 may beinserted into the second hole 310. Meanwhile, the second hole 310 may besmaller than the first hole 130.

The container 1000 for a cell chip configured as described above maystably maintain and support the cell chip 300. In detail, in a state inwhich the upper body 200 is coupled to an upper portion of the lowerbody 100 to keep the cell chip 300 in storage, the cell chip 300 in theinstallation space 110 is fixed by the support members 120 and theprotrusions 210, and thus, the cell chip 300 may be stably maintained instorage, rather than being shaken by an external impact. Similarly, in astate in which the lower body 100 is coupled to the upper portion of theupper body 200 in order to separate the cell chip 300, since the cellchip 300 is supported by the second extending portions 214 inserted intothe second holes 310, the cell chip 300 may not be easily separated byan external impact.

As set forth above, according to the embodiments of the presentinvention, a cell chip accommodated in a container for a cell chip canbe easily separated.

Thus, according to the embodiments of the present invention, arepetitive experiment using a cell chip can be stably conducted.

While the present invention has been shown and described in connectionwith the embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat modifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container for a cell chip, the containercomprising: a lower body including an installation space allowing a cellchip to be installed therein and one or more holes connected to theinstallation space; and an upper body coupled to the lower body, whereinthe upper body includes a plurality of protrusions.
 2. The container ofclaim 1, wherein the installation space includes a plurality of supportmembers supporting an installation position of the cell chip.
 3. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein the protrusions are elongated toward theinstallation space to press the cell chip in a state in which the lowerbody and the upper body are coupled to each other.
 4. The container ofclaim 1, wherein the protrusions extends upwardly in order to be used ashandles for separating the upper body in a state in which the lower bodyand the upper body are coupled to each other.
 5. The container of claim1, wherein the protrusions has a size sufficient to be inserted into theholes.
 6. The container of claim 1, wherein the upper body has a sizesufficient to accommodate a portion of the lower body therein.
 7. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein the lower body or the upper body has aventilation hole allowing external air to be introduced therein.
 8. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein the lower body includes a water storagespace storing water for maintaining humidity.
 9. A container for a cellchip, the container comprising: a lower body including an installationspace for a cell chip and one or more first holes connected to theinstallation space; an upper body coupled to the lower body; and a cellchip installed in the installation space and having second holesconnected to the first holes, wherein the second holes have a sizesmaller than that of the first holes and the upper body includes aplurality of protrusions.
 10. The container of claim 9, wherein theinstallation space includes a plurality of support members supporting aninstallation position of the cell chip.
 11. The container of claim 9,wherein the protrusions are elongated toward the installation space topress the cell chip in a state in which the lower body and the upperbody are coupled to each other.
 12. The container of claim 9, whereinthe protrusions extends upwardly in order to be used as handles forseparating the upper body in a state in which the lower body and theupper body are coupled to each other.
 13. The container of claim 9,wherein the protrusions include first extending portions inserted intothe first holes and second extending portions inserted into the secondholes.
 14. The container of claim 9, wherein the upper body has a sizesufficient to accommodate a portion of the lower body therein.
 15. Thecontainer of claim 9, wherein the lower body or the upper body has aventilation hole allowing external air to be introduced therein.
 16. Thecontainer of claim 9, wherein the lower body includes a water storagespace storing water for maintaining humidity.